MP backs principals’ costings

Comet Bay Community College is expected to face cuts of more than $600,000 to its 2014-school budget.

An Education Department spokesman told the Courier this week that the dollar figures provided by schools could not yet be verified and that it was too early to determine how these changes would affect individual schools.

However, Warnbro MLA Paul Papalia has stood against claims made by the department, saying figures had come from principals’ calculations.

‘This statement is misleading to the public and is completely not true,’ he said.

‘These figures have come from the principals of these schools who have calculated their budgets from this year and compared them to 2014.’

P&C members from Comet Bay, Secret Harbour and Singleton primary schools and Comet Bay College met on Monday night to discuss coping strategies for the following school year.

Comet Bay Primary P&C member Emma Anderson said she was concerned for the school’s additional programs which had played a vital role in children’s education.

‘For Comet Bay it will mean class sizes will become maxed out because we will have fewer teachers and special programs like the Stephanie Alexander kitchen might have to be dropped,’ she said.

‘My daughter is a struggling learner and requires extra help.

‘It will be children like this who will become neglected without the funds; it’s worrying.

‘Last year I completed my Education Assistance course, which the Government gave me a grant to complete because they advised me there would be a need for those positions in the coming years.

‘Now it looks like I won’t be able to put my work into practice: look at the irony there.’